Me!
Did Someone Say “Chicken Bog”? NO? Oh my gosh, What’s a BLOG??
(G8HWR5JXXME6) Several years ago I attended a BPN (Best Practices Network) Conference, an association of 100 interior design firms across the U.S. that convene to learn more about how to run successful interior design firms. The topic of that day was BLOGS. I listened for a few moments and thought we’d taken a small detour, and were about to have one of those totally off the subject discussions that refresh and reset our brains before going back to something more relevant to our businesses, like Cash Flow.
Well, after about 20 minutes of this blog thing, I figured out they must be talking about a popular southern dish called Chicken Bog. After all, it was nearing lunchtime. Not wanting my Midwestern instructor to embarrass himself by making a serious mistake with the pronunciation of this famous southern dish, I raised my very “blond” hand and said, “Don’t you mean BOG?” OMG, what a joke … I didn’t know what a blog was! Fast-forward to now and I finally have this blog thing planted in my blond (ok, well maybe a little on the gray side now!) and thick skull, and I have decided to join the bandwagon.
Hopefully, I’m not too late to the party because I have over 20 years of experience in the design world and I have some wonderful tips and tools of the trade that I want to share with you. My staff and I have assessed what we think we do really well and intend to share that knowledge with you in the form of writing and photos. I will also provide you with the resources to accomplish what we present. I plan to talk about COLOR, which includes trends, selection, composition, and how to avoid mistakes. I will also talk a lot about ACCESSORIES and how they can become the icing on the cake for your project. I will select MANY PERTINENT DESIGN TOPICS intended to make your project a BEAUTIFUL REALITY.
My comfortable, elegant living room
In addition, I have some unique insights for living beautifully and comfortably with children and pets. My husband and I have six children (only three still at home now), 3 dogs, 2 horses (they don’t live with us, you might be glad to know!), and a multitude of cats – and insects that my youngest son, who is 9, seems to collect! We are a fun and comfortable family, but I still want – actually, need! – to live in an elegant yet comfortable home. (How many of you can relate to this?) I have learned a lot about how to do that and I want to share some of that knowledge with you.
Another view of my living room
I have developed 8 ELEMENTS FOR ELEGANCE which can be applied to everyone’s living space on any budget. I will talk a lot about those in this bog … I mean blog! I also have a special formula that I call the “Kimplistic Approach” which will show you how I did it and then HOW YOU CAN DO IT TOO. We will have a really good time here!
Kimplistic Chicken Bog
Serves 10-12
Ingredients
3 lbs Skinless Chicken Breast
1 ½ lbs Smoked Link Sausage
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup (1 stick) butter
2 ½ tsp salt
2 tsp Emeril’s Essence Seasoning
½ tsp ground red pepper (1 tsp if you like it hot!)
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 bay leaves
8 cups water
3 cups raw white rice
Slice smoked sausage into ½ inch medallions and fry in pan over medium high heat. After sausage has caramelized in the pan, combine sausage, chicken, onion, ½ stick of butter, and seasoning into a stockpot. Add the water, bring to a boil, cover, and cook at a low boil for 40 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool slightly. As the chicken is cooling, add rice and remaining ½ stick of butter to the stockpot. Bring to a boil uncovered, stirring well. After the chicken has cooled to the touch, pull the meat apart with your fingers. Let the pot boil for 1 minute, reduce heat to low, cover, then leave to simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. Remove the bay leaves, return the chicken to the pot, and enjoy!
Shortcut (cuts off about 40 minutes of preparation time):
Substitute one 3 lbs roasted grocery store chicken from the deli for the chicken breast.
Substitute store bought chicken stock for water.
Combine onions, (pan fried) sausage, rice, seasoning and 1 stick of butter in stockpot. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute uncovered, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. While rice is cooking, pick apart rotisserie chicken. Add pulled chicken to the rice, and voila! Done!
